Due to a few last-minute cancellations we had a small 8-player field for the September tournament. David Rearick won the tournament, defeating Edwin Jones in the Main Bracket final. The win vaulted David into 7th place in the annual standings. Brendan Leal won the Consolation, defeating Maron Cury in the final.

The full tournament bracket for September can be found here. The current Masters Points standings can be found here. Thank you again to all who came out to play and congratulations to our September winners:

11 players attended the August tournament. Chris Yep won the tournament, his fifth tournament win of the year, defeating Jon Stephens in the Main Bracket final. John Baron won the Consolation, defeating Edwin Jones in the Consolation final.

As a reminder, there’s still a lot to play for this season. In early 2020 we’ll send a team to the Ohio Valley Challenge Cup (OVCC). The top 6 or 7 Columbus players will qualify for the Columbus team. I’d like to see Columbus bring the OVCC trophy back to Columbus next year!

The full tournament bracket for August can be found here. The current Masters Points standings can be found here. Thank you again to all who came out to play and congratulations to our August winners:

11 players attended the July tournament. Chris Yep won the event, defeating David Steinberg in the Main Bracket final. This was Chris’ fourth tournament win and David’s third Main Bracket runner-up finish this year. In the Consolation final Joe Calvaruso defeated Jon Stephens.

The full tournament bracket for July can be found here. The current Masters Points standings can be found here.

Thank you again to all who came out to play and congratulations to our July winners:

Our June tournament had a cozy 8-player field. Jon Stephens won three matches in a row to win the tournament, defeating Maron Cury in the Main Bracket final. In the Consolation final Trevor Dierkes defeated Joe Calvaruso.

At the halfway point of the year Chris Yep (294 points) leads the annual standings. Maron Cury (229 points) and Trevor Dierkes (210 points) are close behind. Several other players are also within striking distance.

The full tournament bracket for June can be found here. The current Masters Points standings can be found here.

Thank you again to all who came out to play and congratulations to our June winners:

10 players attended our May tournament. Chris Yep won the event, defeating Trevor Dierkes in the Main Bracket final. In the Consolation final Edwin Jones defeated Dale Berlin. We also welcomed a new player, Andy Kennedy.

The full tournament bracket for May can be found here. The current Masters Points standings can be found here. Thank you again to all who came out to play, welcome again to Andy Kennedy, and congratulations to our May winners:

14 players attended the April tournament. Chris Yep won four matches in a row to win the tournament, defeating David Rearick in the Main Bracket final. Maron Cury continued his excellent results (9-1 over the last two months) by winning the Consolation, defeating Trevor Dierkes in the Consolation final.

The full tournament bracket for April can be found here. The current Masters Points standings can be found here. Thank you again to all who came out to play and congratulations to our April winners:

13 players attended the March tournament. Maron Cury won four matches in a row to win the tournament, defeating Chris Yep in the Main Bracket final. In the Consolation final Jon Stephens defeated Joe Calvaruso. With his win Maron moved to second in the annual points race just behind Chris, who is now in first.

The full tournament bracket for March can be found here. The current Masters Points standings can be found here. Thank you again to all who came out to play and congratulations to our March winners:

The February tournament was a special tournament with the US Backgammon Federation (USBGF) donating $165 as an added money pool for USBGF members. The added money attracted a large field of 21 players, shattering our previous attendance record of 15 players (which was set in February 2018 at another USBGF added money tournament). The field included two first-time players, Meral Plosch and Peter Swartwout (from Pittsburgh). We also welcomed back two Cleveland-area players, John Baron and Ray Cifani.

The tournament was won by Trevor Dierkes, who beat David Steinberg in the Main Bracket final. In the Consolation final Peter Swartwout defeated Brendan Leal. The USBGF added money, awarded to the USBGF player advancing farthest in the Main bracket, was won by David Steinberg. In addition, David won an entry into the USBGF Online Club Championship tournament, which begins in March. The winner of the USBGF Online Club Championship receives a free entry into any ABT tournament.

In the annual standings, David Steinberg, on the strength of two Main Runner-Up finishes this year, is now in the lead with 100 points.

The full tournament bracket for February can be found here. The current Masters Points standings can be found here. Thank you again to all who came out to play, welcome again to Meral Plosch and Peter Swartwout, and congratulations to our February winners:

If we have more than 16 players, some of the rounds may be shortened to give us more of a chance to finish the tournament by 6:00 pm. The Main Round of 32 matches will decrease to 5 points. The Consolation final will decrease to 5 points. The Main Round of 16 matches may also decrease to 5 points.

Note that while the Columbus Backgammon Club offers a $10 discount for players in their first “regular” tournament, this discount doesn’t apply to this “special” tournament. However, first-time players in February will still receive a $10 discount at their first “regular” tournament (which could be in March 2019 for example).

Now, for the unique aspect of this tournament:

The February 2019 tournament will have an additional added money pool (at least $135) donated by the US Backgammon Federation (USBGF). This added money will be given to the USBGF member who advances farthest in the Main bracket (the Consolation bracket won’t be considered). Note that a split/tie side pool, while rare, is possible; in that case the money will be split as we normally do for side pools. You are eliminated from contention for the added money after your first loss. Note that you must be a current USBGF member on February 10 to be eligible for the added money pool.

Additionally, the winner of the USBGF added money pool will also win an entry into the USBGF Online Club Championship in March 2019. Since this entry to the USBGF Online Club Championship is a unique entry (each club can only submit one entry), if necessary we’ll use progression in the Consolation (whoever advances farthest in the Consolation bracket) as the first tiebreaker and a short playoff match (likely a 3-point match) as the second tiebreaker in order to select Columbus’ USBGF Online Club Championship entrant. If the tied players wish, they can instead flip a coin or roll dice instead of using this second tiebreaker. The winner of the Inter-Club Championshps will win an entry into the ABT event of their choice (typical value: $200-500 if you play at the Open level). Last year 22 clubs participated (one player per club) in the USBGF Online Club Championship.

If you wish, you may qualify for the added money USBGF side
pool by signing up for a new USBGF membership or renewing an expired
membership at the February tournament itself (before 12:00 noon)!
I will collect money and entry forms and forward everything to the
USBGF at the end of the tournament. I’ll bring blank USBGF membership
forms with me to the tournament. If you wish to pay USBGF membership
fees by check make checks payable to the “U.S. Backgammon Federation.”

Our normal playing location in the Food Court is near the Upper Level parking lot entrance near Dick’s Sporting Goods/Field & Stream (Parking lots 4A, 4B, or 4C). We meet by a group of TVs in the center of the food court halfway between Chick-fil-A and The Daily Growler.

Join us for lunch/dinner before events and socialize with your fellow players!